Kids these days. They don't get married. They don't buy homes. And, much to the dismay of the world's auto makers, they apparently don't feel a deep and abiding urge to own a car.

This week, the New York Times pulled back the curtain on General Motors' recent, slightly bewildered efforts to connect with the Millennials -- that giant generational cohort born in the 1980s and 1990s whose growing consumer power is reshaping the way corporate America markets its wares. Unfortunately for car companies, today's teens and twenty-somethings don't seem all that interested in buying a set of wheels. They're not even particularly keen on driving.

The Times notes that less than half of potential drivers age 19 or younger had a license in 2008, down from nearly two-thirds in 1998. The fraction of 20-to-24-year-olds with a license has also dropped. And according to CNW research, adults between the ages of 21 and 34 buy just 27 percent of all new vehicles sold in America, a far cry from the peak of 38 percent in 1985.

At a major conference last year, Toyota USA President Jim Lentz offered up a fairly doleful summary of the industry's challenge.

"We have to face the growing reality that today young people don't seem to be as interested in cars as previous generations," Lentz said. "Many young people care more about buying the latest smart phone or gaming console than getting their driver's license." The billion-dollar question for automakers is whether this shift is truly permanent, the result of a baked-in attitude shift among Millennials that will last well into adulthood, or the product of an economy that's been particularly brutal on the young.

My nephews (23 and 24) both live with mommy, neither of them have drivers licenses, the combined total of time working between them their entire lives is less than 6 months. They both party non-stop (where do they get the money), and the younger one is covered head to toe with tattoos (again where does the money come from?...my sister and her husband are poor).

I don’t understand the mindset, I counted the days till I turned 16 and could get my drivers license, had even worked and bought my own car in preparation. I was out of the house after I turned 18. It is weird, I do not believe one can mature (maturing does not preclude acting like an idiot when appropriate), until one is on his own. When I read the endless facebook posts of the 24 year old (apparantly he has nothing else to do all day), I can not distinguish his posts from one I would expect of a 14 year old.

101
posted on 03/27/2012 9:30:31 PM PDT
by dsrtsage
(One half of all people have below average IQ. In the US the number is 54%)

The Seniors from well-off families had GTOs, 427 Corvettes, Boss 302s, Hemi-Cudas, Z/28s, etc. Gas was 37 cents per gallon with 100 octane Hi-Test available for a few cents more.

Yeah, and the kids who could turn a wrench were putting new engines in the '55 chevy, while the really good ones were putting together a lead sled or a rat rod or a T bucket...back when if you couldn't buy one, you could still manage to put one together. No chips, no computers, no air bags...

What used to be tuned by ear is now voodoo.

There were no catalytic converters and no emissions inspections requiring 'original equipment'.

The price tag on a car now is more than a house was then.

106
posted on 03/27/2012 9:34:44 PM PDT
by Smokin' Joe
(How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)

Young adult=no job. No job=no money. No money=no car(new or otherwise).

This same logic is the reason I am still driving my ‘99 Toyota Solara(I bought it new) with it’s 550K miles. I can’t afford a new car until my house is paid off in 2.5 years. I would also like to see if I can get it to a million miles before I or it kicks off.

Gee I wonder if this drop in the teens is at all due to the restricted drivers license many states have gone to. If you are in high school much of the daylight hours and are too young to drive at night, I would guess having a drivers license might not be worth the bother so much. Not letting teens drive at night is surely a way to lower the number of teens who bother to get a license.

111
posted on 03/27/2012 9:38:37 PM PDT
by JLS
(How to turn a recession into a depression: elect a Dem president with a big majorities in Congress)

“And oh yes, only suckers buy new cars these days, when a two year old used car is half the price and still lasts ten years.”

Not true so much anymore. Because there are fewer “suckers”, used car prices are at record levels. And, there are no “good, cheap” cars anymore, Cash for Clunkers put a big dent in those. That alone turned more than a few young Democrats into Republicans where I work.

112
posted on 03/27/2012 9:39:13 PM PDT
by The Antiyuppie
("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day.")

I'd suggest that the auto makers design and manufacture special specific vehicles on a four year schedule so knowledgeable folks could plan their acquisition while minimizing engineering costs at the manufacturer.

I’m not really a big fan of V8s for diesels. Bigger fewer cylinders in the in-line configuration running very slow RPMs and lots and lots of boost PSI is the way to go. In boats they refer to this as a “lugger diesel”. Dodge Ram does it right with the cummins inline 6. Ford has an awesome turbo on their latest big diesel. It’s a multistage made by Honeywell I think. I’d like to see an even bigger turbo with even more stages and maybe even some turbine compounding...on a massive 4 cylinder diesel.

“I wonder if this drop in the teens is at all due to the restricted drivers license many states have gone to.”

My dad’s grandfather owned a car but couldn’t drive it. So my father drove him around town, from the age of 12. You didn’t need a driver’s license then, in 1932, you simply had to be able to reach the pedals.

If I was calling the shots at a vehicle engine design lab I would put them to work building a three cylinder two stroke direct injected valveless diesel with one massive multi stage turbo and turbine compounding.

There are boost pressure limits in practical terms though. Even heavy duty diesel connecting rods have limits to how much force you can transmit through them. Horsepower is torque at a given RPM.

The problem is how much torque can you safely apply with a motor reasonably weighted for a road going personal vehicle. I love my pickup, but I love light & nimble cars as well (actually, my Titan is quite nimble in a straight line, thanks to a 32V V8 motor :)). The only way to obtain horsepower in lightweight engines is to spin them skyword on the RPM scale.

And due to tightening fuel mileage requirements from gub’ment, V6, I6, and V8 diesels with higher RPM capabilities is pretty much the future of diesel.

However, I really think Diesel tech will eventually be supplanted from passenger cars to heavy trucks, by spark ignition engines in the end. More tuneable parameters (spark advance, fuel events, turbo pressure, etc.), and less rotating mass for same power output, and no emissions filters required for soot & NO2. With the advent of GDI, gasoline engines can be built to be just as efficient as diesels, and be able to pull the same heavy loads. Diesel is already begrudgingly produced by the distillers —— they could easily turn that diesel into gasoline. With engine technology bringing gasoline big gains in efficiency, I really think the diesel’s days are numbered. Just too expensive & too heavy.

Even worse, a diesel always wastes some fuel, unburned. That’s the soot... it just builds and builds in the exhaust system and some sort of filter has to either remove it, or it collects and it eventually clogs the system or catches fire. Even with the current crop of multi-event piezo injectors, soot is still a major problem in the end.

We thought we had arrived when we got our hands on a timing light and a dwell meter... Most had an extra condenser and set of points in the glove box, and an ignition wrench, a feeler gauge and a screwdriver could get you going.

Real performance required 'talent', some money, and the willingness to experiment.

For most of us, at first, so long as it got to highway speed, didn't wake the folks up if you came in late (as if they weren't awake anyway), and didn't burn more oil than gas, that first car was a big step toward self-sufficiency and maturity.

It wasn't until later we discovered going fast...

128
posted on 03/27/2012 11:52:57 PM PDT
by Smokin' Joe
(How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)

Fewer cylinders per displacement quantity and fewer RPMs equals greater efficiency. A 5 liter 6 cylinder is more efficient than a 5 liter 12 cylinder with equal power outputs and equal RPMs. A ten liter engine operating at 1500RPMs is more efficient than a 5 liter operating at 3000RPMs with equal power outputs.

The bigger motor with less RPMs also lasts longer...assuming equal level of manufacturing, materials, and design quality.

Watch local want ads. Some of the best vehicles we have had were from estates (parent died, 'kids' (middle aged) didn't need another vehicle and often sell older but little-used vehicles at bargain prices. (Think a 1998 with 35,000 miles on it). The money you save can go in the gas tank. Often, these were garaged and meticulously serviced, often by dealer mechanics.

Used (off-lease and former rental) vehicles have usually been well maintained if not always well driven. Local, non-franchise rental agencies can offer some deals, especially near the end of the year when they cull the fleet for tax purposes.

Bargains can be had there as well, and then there are State and Municipal impound auctions, although these may involve more risk of getting a lemon.

There are still bargains out there, but you aren't likely to find them on a dealer lot.

131
posted on 03/28/2012 12:09:58 AM PDT
by Smokin' Joe
(How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)

The generation was force-fed that oil and CO2 emissions are evil, to the point that this has become the religion of many of them. And it is asked why kids aren’t buying cars? The communist brainwashing is finally taking hold Cars are considered evil. Oil users are raping Mother Earth.

Get with the program. The commie’s war against cars is finally starting to take hold.

I passed along two older cars, both approx. ten years old at the time, to younger members of the family. In one case, the Dad of the one young man picked up the repair bill which was a thousand dollars. There was a minimal charge at AAA to change over the ownership. The quality of the vehicle was 'poor' so there was no state tax involved. The young man and his Dad brought it back to good condition, which would have been a prohibitive cost for me.

obama has not given them the money yet, probably. A big majority of them back in 2008 wanted to be a part of history and “put a Black man in as President”.They did. He is there. And through the results of his policies, they have no opportunity to work and earn money for said car. Me, I was sixteen years old when I eatned the money for my mother to purchase my first cat. Back then the insurance was so high for young drivers, our parents purchased our cars in their name and carried us as occasional drivers on their insurance. We paid the difference in insurance costs.

Many kids are leaving college these days with the equivalent of a home mortgage payment, and very little job prospects due to the "new normal" unemployment rate. How can they then afford to buy a home? How can they afford a new car with no job? I'm not saying that they have no responsibilty for their situation, just that we can't copy the European model and not expect the same results.

Young adult Europeans live with their parents, because of economic conditions that Obama is replicating for us here. Multiple generations live in the same home.

Obama wants a European model for the USA, and he's getting it. If we continue down this path, our country we'll graduate from being like Italy to being like Greece, and the American dream will finally be dead for future generations.

Thanks - I wondered what that would be in today’s dollars but was too lazy to figure it out. At any rate, doubtful if we could buy a house and car like we had at $136,000 today. Just a new Mustang would take up a chunk of it.

148
posted on 03/28/2012 11:17:53 AM PDT
by Grams A
(The Sun will rise in the East in the morning and God is still on his throne.)

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